Facade
by KizunaUzumaki
Summary: Modern AU! Fem!AladdinxJudal. Judal used to have a loving family. When his parents were murdered in a power play he was adopted by another family. This family isn't quite so happy. Aladdin learns Judal's secret through the lens of her camera and tries to help him out of the darkness that has taken over his life.
1. Chapter 1-Wallpaper

Aladdin put her books from biology into her locker and pulled out her camera. She checked the time on her phone before heading towards the school assembly. She needed to take pictures of the assembly for the yearbook. She found a place where she would be able to find everyone she liked to take pictures of and waited for things to start.

She listened to the principal's speech and the ASB representatives as she watched the crowd through her camera lens. She snapped pictures of everyone she could get a clear shot of. She spent most of her time focused on the boy with red eyes. His eyes fascinated her. They were beautiful in a way different from anything else she had ever seen.

His name was Judal. He was a junior. They had art class together, which was one of the few classes he didn't skip regularly. Since there was only one art teacher for the entire school the classes were combined a lot. Aladdin did mostly photography and Judal seemed to doodle a lot. She heard rumors that he used to sing, but she had no way of knowing whether or not that was true.

She zoomed in and took pictures of his eyes. She took pictures of him in as many different angles as she could from her position. She moved her camera away as he looked over at her. She took a few more pictures of Kouha and Jafar on stage before turning off her camera and getting ready to leave.

At home she found a note from Ugo saying he would be home late because of an emergency at the hospital that he was called in to help with. It would be another night of looking through her pictures to figure out which would be candidates for the yearbook and which would join her portfolio of Judal pictures. Aladdin pulled up the new pictures of Judal on her computer after dividing all the pictures into the correct folders. She was looking through all on them taking note of how the slightest change in angle or light made his eyes take on a different kind of sparkle. She couldn't help smiling to herself until she saw the strange shadowing on his collarbone. His shirt was slipping into an abnormal position on his body. She looked through the photos again. No matter her change in position or the conditions of the photo, the shadowing didn't change. It looked like a bruise. Having a bruise there was definitely weird. She didn't like seeing it, and she was sure it wasn't the first time he had had strange bruising now that she thought about it.

The next several hours were spent searching through every photo she had of Judal. That was a lot considering she had first started taking his picture in seventh grade and she was now a freshman. She found bruises in almost every picture. That set off warning signs. She had a friend who was abused before. She doubted anyone else had ever noticed the bruises, she could only tell because she had some unusual angles to get photos without him noticing.

Monday morning she started asking his classmates about his past. It sounded like several years ago he started acting differently. He quit gymnastics and stopped smiling and hanging out with friends. He started fighting too. He only stopped when a senior from last year told him to stop.

He needed help, and she was going to help him.

* * *

Hello!

What did you think? I've been playing around with the idea for this story for a while and I finally said screw it and started writing.

Please review and feel free to request. Also please take a moment to vote in the poll.

Until Next Time!

-Kizuna


	2. Chapter 2-Through the Curtains

Friday was the day Aladdin finally decided to reach out to Judal. She sat down next to him in the back corner instead of next to the computer in the front of the class. It's another free workday. She pulled out her rarely used sketchbook and a few different colored pencils before starting to outline the piece she was planning. It wasn't that she didn't like drawing; it was more that she loved photography so much that she just never had time to draw much.

She could feel his eyes on her for a few moments before he went back to his doodling. She smiled at the little anime characters he was drawing on the paper.

"What has you so happy Chibi?"

"My name is Aladdin, nice to meet you. I just haven't done any actual drawing for a long time so it's a nice change." She looked up from her paper and over to him, meeting his eyes and offering a small smile. "That character is from Black Butler right?"

His eyes met hers. "You read the manga?"

"And watch the anime. And I watched all the musical's on YouTube too."

He smirked. "Well aren't you a cute little Chibi nerd."

"You think I'm cute?"

"Don't dwell on it Chibi. So what about your photography? You spend every free second with that camera of yours."

"There's something important I have to do today that I can't do with my camera. I have a message to give rather than a memory to record." She spent a few minutes on her sketch. She paused from her work and glanced over to him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Didn't you just do that?"

"Can I ask you two things?"

"Do I get a choice?"

"You can choose not to answer."

"Chibi seems to be a smartass."

"I am not!"

"Just ask the damn question."

"Is the rumor about your singing true?"

"Which rumor? The one about me sounding like a tone-deaf walrus or the one about me being a good singer?"

"I've never heard the walrus one before."

"Well then yes, I was a good singer. I don't really do that anymore though."

"Why?"

"Because I don't feel like it. Why do you always take photographs of people's eyes?"

She looked over at him. "How did you know about that?"

"I'm the only person in the room who can see the computer screen besides the person sitting in front of it, who is usually you. I have the best view of your work while we sit in this class without any actual assignments."

"Please don't tell anyone. I'm really only supposed to take pictures of people for yearbook."

"I don't really have anyone to tell besides Kouha, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care."

"Still, please don't tell anyone."

"Why do you always focus on my eyes?"

"Ah-you knew about that?"

"I can only spend so much time drawing anime characters. After a while they all start to look the same and I get bored."

"Your eyes are really beautiful. It's hard not to be mesmerized by them."

Judal snorted but didn't say anything else. They stayed in silence for the rest of the class. At the end Aladdin folded her drawing in half and placed it in front of Judal. "It was nice to finally talk to you. It is hard to get a chance since Juniors and Freshman don't have very many events together. See you tomorrow." She hurried out of the room and to her locker to get her stuff before meeting Ugo out in front of the school.

Judal looked down at the picture before shoving it into his notebook and throwing his things in his bag. It was an outline of a person, not specifically a man or woman, with no distinguishing features. The way Aladdin had used the blues, blacks, and purples made the person look like different layers of bruising. He was impressed by her ability to create something so **different** and interesting before she remembered her saying it was a message and his blood ran cold.

Someone knew about the bruises and that was **not** good. If it hadn't been for Kouen last year he would have just beat the girl up. Or beat up one of her friends, which probably would have worked better. He was going to have some serious problems if she said anything.


	3. Chapter 3-Goals

_Kouha: I want to take you shopping._

 _Aladdin: Kouha, I need to get ready for the photography competition I'm entering._

 _Kouha: I will help you with it tomorrow. Come shopping. I want you to get all knew stuff for the school dance in three weeks and I can't go next week. You are going to that competition the week after and then the dance happens. Commmmmme._

 _Aladdin: …_

 _Kouha: Aladdin! Come on, I helped you get the blonde and the red-head together. You owe me._

 _Aladdin: I'll meet you there in an hour._

 _Kouha: :D_

Aladdin got off the street car and stepped into the street. It only took her a few minutes to reach the mall. She met Kouha at the usual candy shop. He held out a bag of sweets to her, but changed his mind and chose a candy to stick in her mouth. She smiled at him and started walking to her favorite boutique. They went through almost forty dresses before finding a dark blue one that Kouha approved of. He proceeded to make her try on every high-heeled shoe in five different stores before he was happy with how they looked with the dress. She wasn't really sure she liked the outfit but she trusted Kouha's judgment.

"We've been shopping all day. I'm hungry, let's go get some food."

"But Aladdin we haven't even started jewelry shopping!"

"I have stuff at home that will work. I don't need everything to be completely new. And the same goes for makeup. That stuff is supposed to be reused."

"You are taking all the fun out of this."

"It's only fun for you. I hate trying on stuff. Why can't we just buy whatever looks good?"

"Because the best way to know if a dress works is to try it on. Every person's body is different. Stop complaining and let's go eat."

Aladdin grinned and pulled him towards the normal restaurant. Before she could walk in he yanked her back.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Look in the window; back corner."

She sighed and did as he said. The sooner she saw whatever he wanted her to see the sooner she would get food. It took her a minute to find the table Kouha was talking about and when she did she grinned. "They really are cute together."

"Yes they are. So let's not interrupt. Alibaba is still jumpy from the last time I joined their date."

"You started making out with the waitress half-way through her taking your order. I think his embarrassment around you is just a little bit justified. He never has had much luck with women."

Aladdin and Kouha watched Morgiana and Alibaba. Alibaba kept feeding Morgiana bites of food. Aladdin laughed at Morgiana's constantly blushing face. It had taken a long time to get her two childhood friends to admit their feelings for each other, and even that wouldn't have happened if Kouha hadn't helped her trick them into admitting their feelings. Aladdin smiled to herself when Alibaba leaned across the table and kissed Morgiana. Mission accomplished.

* * *

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I updated and I'm sorry about that. I'm trying to get into the writing flow again and update more often. Please bare with me.

I know this chapter was short but I think the next chapter will be up really soon so hopefully that will make up for the length.

If you haven't already I would really appreciate if you took a moment and voted in the poll I have up. Pretty please with sugar on top.

If you do I will take a request of any kind (description, setting, pairing, AU, OC, whatever...actually i'd do this anyway but seriously please vote)

Until Next Time!

-Kizuna


	4. Chapter 4-Discovery

The pair spent half an hour watching the date before leaving to find another place to eat. While waiting to be seated at the other restaurant a group of girls came up to them and started flirting with Kouha and sending her death glares. On a normal day she would just ignore the evil looks but today she was in no mood to eat in an unpleasant atmosphere. She leaned over and whispered a goodbye into his ear before heading out to eat somewhere else. There was a café near a park two blocks away that she had wanted to try for a while. Originally she had hoped to meet up with Kouha later but she abandoned that idea and texted him. She was really tired now.

She makes her way down the street, choosing to go through the park rather then around it. The birds were singing louder then normal today. She took her time to get through the trees. The shade felt nice. She looked around, studying the people. There was a couple sitting on a blanket, a group of kids playing tag, an old woman feeding the birds, and a young man running around the perimeter of the park. Her eyes kept drifting back to the runner. Something about him was very familiar. After a moment of people watching she rested her gaze on the runner.

She smiled when she figured out who it was. She wouldn't have to eat lunch alone after all. She waited a few more minutes until he stopped running and sat down. She walked over and looked down at him, extending her hand to help him up. He just gave her a bored stare.

"Can I help you Chibi?" Pretending the art class didn't happen was probably the best idea.

"You have to be hungry after running that much. Let's go get some food together. Kouha and I have been running around all day and I haven't eaten yet."

"I don't want to. I don't make a habit of hanging out with freshman."

"You don't really make a habit of hanging out with anyone. Come eat with me. I know this park is really nice but don't you think it would be more fun to talk to someone?"

"Go away Chibi. I'm not interested."

"How about I put it this way. I've had a very bad day because I was dragged around and forced to shop for hours and then I was abandoned by my friend because he was more interested in flirting with a group of girls." Okay, so that wasn't exactly true, but it was close enough. "If you don't come eat with me I'll spread your secret around the school."

His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Do you really want to risk it?"

"Fine Chibi. I'll go to lunch with you."

She smiled. "Good. I've wanted to try this new place for a while now. Um, do you need another minute to catch your breath or anything?"

"No, lets just get this over with."

"No need for you to sound so grumpy. This is supposed to be fun!"

"Yes, because being blackmailed by a little Freshman is a really fun way to spend my afternoon off. Yay."

"Okay, so this place is supposed to have this really delicious peach drink."

"I hate-"

"You love peaches. I'll even buy you two if you smile."

"You really piss me off."

"That's okay. I'll grow on you eventually. I want us to be friends." She just kept grinning at him. She'd get him to like her somehow.

Aladdin chose a table in the back corner of the restaurant. She waited for Judal to order and when he didn't she ordered for both of them. The waitress looked surprised at the amount she asked for but didn't say anything about it.

"You sure can eat Chibi. You ordered enough food for three people."

"Well you weren't ordering anything for yourself so I had to choose and I couldn't decide."

"I don't want anything."

"Too bad. I got you something and you are going to eat it. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. It's not like I can stop you."

"Why don't you do gymnastics anymore?"

That was a very touchy subject for him. This was so not where he wanted this conversation to go. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Kouha said you competed at the national level. I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't be prying so much. I just wanted to know why you would stop doing something you loved so much."

"Why do you think I loved it?"

"I looked you up. There was a picture of one of your old competitions, I think you came in first or second, but you looked so happy. You were holding the trophy and you looked like it was the most natural thing in the world, like you belonged in that gym practicing all the time."

Judal smirked at her, that natural flirtatious personality coming out. "If I didn't know any better I would say that you were stalking me Chibi." His smirk grew when he saw her blush. "But you are right, I loved gymnastics. I just don't want to do it any more." He didn't register the disappointment in her eyes or how her face fell, he was lost in the past, thinking about how things used to be.

She didn't like the way his mood seemed to change drastically for the worse when he talked about it. She thanked the waitress when the food arrived and started dividing everything into halves so they could both try everything. She took a few moments to eat before beginning to speak again. "I've always loved photography. My parents bought me my first camera and I could never go anywhere without it. I took pictures of everything… They got in a car accident right after I won a photography competition. I was with my uncle and they were going to meet us at a restaurant to celebrate. The doctors said they might never wake up from the comas. At first I thought it would be best if I never got behind a camera again, but I couldn't stay away. I wanted to record everything for them in case they wake up. So I started taking pictures again. Ugo told me that they never would have wanted me to stop taking pictures. So I never have… Sorry, I don't know why I started talking about depressing stuff."

Instead of saying something Judal stuck a bite of food into her mouth. "Shut up and eat Chibi."

* * *

Hello!

It's been a suuuper long time since I last updated...Sorry

Life has been kinda crazy.

I'm working on it.

I don't even know what to say...

Until Next Time!

-Kizuna


	5. Chapter 5-Promises

Aladdin's mood dropped when she walked into the art classroom and found out that Judal hadn't come to school that day. Everything about the day was great until then. She had even printed out photos to work on rather then doing stuff on the computer so she could sit with him.

The next day brought the same disappointment. As did the day after. On the fourth day she went to the nurse's office and signed herself out of school saying that she felt horribly sick. It was helpful to have a close relationship with the nurse. When she wanted to leave school she never really needed be marked absent, she just went to the nurse and was signed out.

She didn't even know what to do; she just couldn't wait at school anymore. She wanted to find Judal and make sure he was okay. She should have asked him for his phone number when they ate lunch together. She had absolutely no idea where to go. She knew he used to be close with Kouen, so she could call him and ask where Judal lived or for his phone number. Only problem was she would probably end up in another six hour long interrogation or another debate. She would only use Kouen as a last resort.

After twenty minutes of walking in deep thought she found herself at the same park as before. Well, she might as well try here. She had found him at the park the other day. Maybe she would have the same luck today.

She looked around. Maybe he was taking a nap? She tried looking at all the good spots to sit; up high in trees, in the shade, the nice sun spots. No matter where she looked she couldn't find him. Time for the backup plan. She was walking out of the park towards a coffee shop where she could get a drink and call Kouen when she caught sight of a long, black braid. She turned her head and saw him running around just like she had the other day.

She took a deep breath and threw her backpack to the ground before taking off, starting to chase after him before she could regret not waiting until after he finished running. At least she had worn flats instead of sandals or heels that day. She really didn't like physical activity, especially running, but she wanted to talk to the raven-haired boy.

It took her a moment to catch up with him, and she could see his eyes dart to the side to look at her when he noticed her beside him. He didn't seem very happy about it. Well, that made two of them; she really hated running, especially since she was wearing a dress.

After ten minutes of running Aladdin felt like her lungs were going to burst. "Judal would you please stop?"

"No."

"Please!"

"I'm not stopping."

"I have no idea why you do this willingly. Don't your lungs hurt?"

"You are just out of shape."

"You're probably right."

He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. She noticed him picking up his pace. She really wished he would slow down, but sped up to keep pace with him anyway. She was not going to let him get away. When they finished what felt like the thousandth lap to Aladdin she reached down and grabbed her backpack. He looked over to see what the sudden movement was. She grabbed his hand and pulled him in a different direction, refusing to let go and refusing to continue the circling. Luckily for her he didn't seem to be in the mood to really fight against her. If he had she wouldn't have been able to lead him away.

"Chibi I'm not done with my workout."

"Well, I am. And since I lied about being sick to make sure you weren't dead in a ditch somewhere I think you owe me an hour of your time."

"No."

"Don't be like that."

"I want to."

"You are acting like a kid. And I'm not giving you a choice."

"Or what, you'll spread a rumor around school? Who cares? You'll tell everyone anyway so I don't see a point."

"You deprived me of several days worth of photographs of the most interesting eyes I have ever come across. My project for my next competition is all about capturing different emotions in eyes. You are ruining my chance of winning. If I don't win I don't get to go to the next level of competition. Are you willing to crush my dreams **and** not make up for it?"

"If I go do whatever the hell you want will you shut up?"

"No, but I will talk a little less."

"Don't be a smartass."

"I think I could say the same to you."

She took him to an ice cream shop. "What flavor do you want?"

"I don't want anything."

"You said the same thing last time but ate more food then I did. Besides, you need to have something after all the running you just did."

"I don't want-"

"We'll take two of the…Actually, could you just get me a tub of the peach ice cream please."

She handed the cashier her credit card and took the ice cream. She pulled out some napkins from the container and the spoons forcing Judal to take the credit card back for her. She chose a table in the back and sat down.

"Are you ever going to let go of my hand Chibi?"

"Ah-sorry. I forgot."

"You really are completely unaware or yourself aren't you? You should be more careful. It would be only too easy to take advantage of you."

"Just give me my spoon." She turned her head to the side in a weak attempt to him her blush. She should have been more careful about touching him. If she wasn't careful he would end up finding out her feelings and start ignoring her even more. She couldn't let that happen before he got used to her. Otherwise she would lose any chance she had with him.

When she turned back, she noticed the troubled look in his eyes that had been there since he had brought up the blackmail. Now she felt horrible. "You don't have to worry you know."

"What the hell are you talking about now?"

"I won't tell anyone. I never would. It's your secret."

"Right. Why the hell should I believe you?"

"I don't have a reason why you should believe me."

"That's reassuring."

Did he have to be so sarcastic all the time? "Well...ugh! Is there something I could do to prove it?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "What if I took something from you? Something you could never get back?" He had moved closer to her. She could feel his breath on her face. He waited for her to understand what he was suggesting.

"What are you talking about?"

He sat back down and took another bite of the ice cream. Apparently the naivety and innocence wasn't an act. "Never mind Chibi. I don't feel like explaining things to you right now."

They sat in silence for a moment. Judal kept a carefully constructed bored expression on his face. Aladdin kept eating and thinking, trying to come up with something that would erase the worry hidden behind Judal's mask.

She raised her eyes to meet his. "What if you took a picture of me?"

"How the hell does that mean anything? If I wanted a picture of you I would look in a yearbook or on the school website."

That stung just a little bit, even though she knew it shouldn't. "You really like to throw hell into everything you say, don't you?" He looked surprised by the sharp edge in her voice. She took a deep, steadying breath. "I meant a nude photo. If I spread the rumor around school then you have the option to circulate the picture and vice versa. Would that be fair?"

"You really have guts don't you?"

"That's one way to put it I guess."

He smirked at her. "How do you know this isn't what I was after all along? Like I said before, taking advantage of you wouldn't be hard, and now you are just volunteering yourself in a very vulnerable position to me. How do you know I won't take it farther then just a picture?" His smirk grew when she blushed a deep red.

"I don't really want to do this but if it will help you feel better then it's worth it. Whatever it ends up being."

"Careful Chibi. I'm not a gentleman like Kouha or Kouen or Sinbad. I don't respect anything."

"I know. But I don't like seeing you in pain either and what I did is causing you more pain, so I'll take responsibility and deal with the consequences."

He left it at that. "I don't have a camera."

"You can use one of mine. Give me your arm?"

He reached over and she pulled out a pen and wrote her address and phone number. "I should be home alone for most of the weekend so call me whenever is a good time for you and we can do it then."

"Alone?" Had she not listened to a thing he had said at all? She was opening herself up to a world of pain.

"Yeah, Ugo has to work a lot. Oh, we finished the ice cream. And you said you didn't want any." She couldn't help but tease him.

"I suggest you be more careful next time then, you wouldn't want to lose your figure."

"Hey!"

"I'll see you tomorrow Chibi."

She stuck out her tongue at him. "Bye Juju."

"Where the hell did that come from."

"I'd answer if you left out the hell."

* * *

Happy Holidays!

I've have been away for a suuuuuuuuuuuuuper long time. It hurts. Shall I explain? I was sicks, and then I had school, and then I had a break and my family stuff, and then I got back from break and my teachers went crazy, and then I got sick again. Not to mention dance practice for the school team literally just added an hour of practice every day. EVERY DAY. I never sleep anymore. And its the holiday season so there are gifts and i'm trying to keep up with all the different holidays but I'm pretty sure i've already missed some. -_-

Anyway I'll be back sooner this time because I will soon have a long break where I should have time to do some writing. I hope. Yes...

Please review and request anything your heart desires.

Until Next Time!

-Kizuna


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